The barn that I worked in during July, built by Edna St. Vincent Millay

August is upon us, the apples are pulpy on the sidewalks, and the sun is lower in the sky. Take note of all the changes unfolding around us. It's breathtaking. Already I am filled up and emptied out, both, from spending all of July at Millay Colony for the Arts. Such an intense experience. I am so very happy to be home—with a better novel to show for it. I’ll keep you posted on next steps as they develop. Fingers crossed!

Another thing I have to show for my time away? Well, Sophie and I developed a full schedule of Elephant Rock offerings for the upcoming academic year, September 2018 through June 2019. Because our retreats and classes are small and tend to fill quickly, we wanted, as a new courtesy to you and to us as teachers, to set a schedule well in advance. We hope you love it! We also hope to see you in some of these writing spaces, both in the physical world and online. Our fall classes, registering now, are:

The Art of the Fractured (Thursdays, September 20 – October 5): This exploration of fragmented forms was our most popular remote class last year—it was a blast, and some students ended up publishing work generated during the course. Fractured is a chance to experiment with new forms and see what you can take away. Registration has begun, so reach out now to hold a spot.

Beyond What You See: Writing Description (Mondays, September 10 - October 1): This new remote course focuses solely on the crucial art of description in creative writing, and how to rock it. It is offered as part of our brand-new Essential Series, which focuses on classes devoted to a single, crucial element of craft. This year, we’re also offering Essential Series courses on place, character, and plot. We’d love to see you in one of these intensives!

Write for Your Life Memoir Intensive (October 26-28): Write for Your Life takes place in Minneapolis and runs Friday evening 6-9 pm and 10-4 pm Saturday and Sunday. This is our most rigorous, craft-focused workshop on bringing your lived experience to life on the page. It’s challenging, intense, inspiring, and full of fun surprises. In an encouraging and engaged small group, you’ll learn why “what happened” is never enough, and how to transform a well-worn story into arresting art that brings others to their knees. This workshop guaranteed to leave you with some work in progress and a whole set of new skills for life writing.

Mystery of Yin Retreat for Writing and Yoga (November 15-18): Mystery of Yin, for women only, is an all-inclusive very deep dive and intensely nourishing creative retreat where you are invited to access your deepest imaginings and bring them forth on the page through carefully crafted writing exercises that engage the mystery of the unconscious. Daily yoga, meditation, and art, plus delicious meals and a nonstop crackling fire in the stone hearth and the crashing of the waves. This sell-out retreat is held at the amazing Naniboujou Lodge on the North Shore of Lake Superior. We hope you’ll join us!

And if you want to know what others have had to say about our retreats, workshops, and classes, read recent reviews here. If you have questions, just reply to this email and we will do our best to answer them! We look forward to an incredible year of writing with you!